Schtroumpf restaurant was one of my favourite places in town and the beer and food there were as good as any other place. But it just lost it for some reason until a year or two back when it turned “American” and became Shtrumpf restaurant. Not sure why they changed the name, but i went for dinner the other day and it was very good, and their salad bar is awesome. There’s soup, a toaster and a large variety.

They are currently holding their 18th beer festival where you pay 19$ and drink beer as much as you can. The festival is held outdoors and includes live bands and entertainment. You need to reserve before going though.

Last time i attended, the atmosphere was really nice and the place crowded but service was a bit slow. Also, not including any food with the beer kind of sucks, specially that they offer open beer and wings night every Tuesday for 16$ or so.

Nevertheless, their beer festival is worthy going to, and i can’t wait for their cheese and wine nights in winter.

I left work yesterday around 9:45 pm and thought i pass by Maya‘s book signing event. I thought to myself i knew where that “Art Lounge” is for some reason, so i did not bother call or keep the number with me in case.

Well i was wrong and i simply could not find the place! I asked few people i saw on the street but no one had a clue, so i just went back home.

I checked the location of the place once i got back and it was almost where i thought it was, but i could swear there was no sign or even a light showing that it’s there last night!

Anyway, i guess i’ll have to go pick up the book from a library once it’s available now.

Maya will be signing her second book tonight at Art Lounge in Karantina starting 6:30PM.

I will be trying to finish work early and attend the event as a sign of support and admiration for this talented blogger.

See you all there!

This is the third or fourth time i go to Jbeil this summer and i must say i am finding it very enjoyable everytime.

I had tickets for Riverdance, the Irish dancing show, who are performing for three consecutive nights at the Byblos Festivals. There was little traffic to get to the theater and parkings and guides to help you out everywhere. You walk along the Byblos seaport to get to the amphitheater that’s located right on the beach. We were seated on the second row few meters away from the dancers which was great. The whole show was breathtaking and i recommend it to everyone. It is entertaining and beautiful to watch.

After it was over, we went to Ksar restaurant in Jbeil also to have a drink. The place looks like an old renovated house and is very spacy from the inside. The menu was very rich and had some specialities that looked quite interesting, three of which caught my attention.

(Those are drinks)
Taht el Arishi: Arak, PineApple, Liquorice.

Kan Zaman: White wine, Blackcurrant, Halloumi Cheese.

Abou el Zolof: Gin, Date, Orange, Grenadine.

I never thought Arak could be mixed with anything, and PineApple didn’t look quite appealing to me. Halloumi Cheese in the second drink seemed a bit nasty and i hate Gin so i didn’t try the third one as well.

I went for a fruity cocktail instead that consisted of “ward” and lemon, and wasn’t bad at all.

Afterwards, i left back home without facing any traffic on the way back. It was a great night out and definitly better than going to Beirut and getting stuck in all the traffic on the roads and inside the pubs and restaurants.

Regardless of whether I liked the event or not yesterday, there was one major issue I could not help not notice, the safety regulations set by the organizers. The picture you see above is how close I was to the track and the small plastic barriers were the only thing between the viewers and the cars. You can also see the crowds on the upper right standing on the side of the Dora highway, without anything stopping them from just jumping into the track or throwing things at the cars.

Above you can see how close people are to the track.

As i posted earlier today, i went tonight to the Red Bull Car Park drift held in the Forum de Beyrouth. I was excited to go cause i had VIP tickets and would be well-seated to watch the drifts and take pictures of the car, but instead it was probably the most badly organized events i’ve ever been in years and i left only after 20 minutes.

The event was taking place at 8 pm, so out of precaution i left my house around 7:20 and only reached the forum at 8:20 or so. There were barely any spottable signs as to where Friends & Media can get in or the public can get in, so we rushed to the first entrance and we were denied entrance since there’s no parking inside. Yes! No freaking parking for anyone!

So i started looking for a place to park along with some 10000 other cars. I almost got to Gemmayze trying to find a spot then i managed to convince the Sleep Comfort security guard of letting me park. We walked to the first entrance and were told which way are the VIP seated. We kept walking for a good 15 minutes without finding anywhere that looked like a decent section and the place was so damn crowded we could barely see the cars. We came back and tried another entrance and same thing, no place to even see the cars and people everywhere.

Each security guy gave us different directions so we just stood still, watched whatever could be spotted for 10 minutes and left.

The barriers behind which the crowds were standing were ridiculously fragile and close and any false move from a drifting car could have killed at least 100 people. Cars were also bad and old, only few decent cars.

Tonight was really a big disappointment. I was very excited for this event and instead it was a whole waste of time.

Red Bull Car Park Drift Finals is planned to take place in Beirut at the Forum de Beirut, tonight (July 16 2010) at 8PM. [Link]

This is only the second year that they organize this event. I missed it in 2009 but i got VIP tickets this year and i am definitly going.

I had my brother’s graduation on Saturday in the American University of Beirut (AUB). It was supposed to start at 7:30pm with the distribution of diplomas scheduled at 8:30pm.

I got there with my folks at 7:25, got seated at 8:45 and the ceremony started at 10:20pm !!

Afterwards, people literally invaded the buffet and almost ate the plates along with what’s inside of them. I would assume people willing to spend 25,000$ per year on medical school would be a bit more civilized but i guess not. Kel chi bi balesh kattir menno.

Anyway, this graduation reminded me of the registration days at AUB, and the trouble we would go to just to register for a class. One would think that with all this money, the university would organize things better bass ya ma7la daweyir el dawoule, and it’s not just AUB. AUB is probably the least worst of all others.

I was told by some friends it was one of the best concerts so far this year. I was supposed to go but i had to cancel at the last second.

[More Pictures From BeirutNightLife.com]

Placebo landed in Beirut few days ago and will perform their concert tonight at the Forum de Beyrouth.

However, similarly to what happened with Gad el Maleh last summer (and unfortunatelly worked), some Lebanese activists are trying to stop Placebo from playing by claiming they are Israeli supporters.

Why so?
Because they played in Israel.

Like serious, wtf is wrong with those people? Placebo is one of the most famous bands in the world and it is normal that they play all over the world including Israel.

“The band must choose either to play in Lebanon or to play in a state that continuously violates rights,” Idriss said on behalf of the groups, which include the Campaign to Boycott Israeli Supporters in Lebanon and the Campaign for the Lebanese Boycott of Zionism. “

How backwards this guy is? And who does he think he is to impose on Placebo where to go?

Another smart ass activist told Agence France Presse that Molko’s comment showed Placebo “ignored the massacre last week against the Freedom Flotilla and went even further, announcing their support for Israel,” Rana al-Masri, one of the activists spearheading the boycott campaign, told Agence France Presse.

I checked to see what Molko’s comment was:

The interviewer then asked if it was important to have Israel’s endorsement these days, to which Molko quipped: “Yeah, if you want to go sailing.” [Naharnet]

How is that endorsing and supporting Israel? And Is Molko a politician to give his opinion on that matter? He is probably more worried about his makeup than what’s been happening in the world.

Added to that, if you check his profile:

“Born to an American international banker father of French-Italian heritage[1] and a Scottish mother, Molko’s family moved frequently during his childhood including spells in Scotland, Liberia, Lebanon and Luxembourg.” [Wiki]

You’d notice he’s been in lebanon. Did they ban him from playing in Israel? I think not!

I think we should start a petition against those activists and jail them for backwardness and public harm as well as projecting a bad image of Lebanon.

My friend from the Beirut Spring had an opinion on the matter as well.

Very Nice calendar, check it out!

The 2010 Edition

Nature in full bloom at Beirut Garden Show

I recall hearing about it on the radio but there was not much advertising done on this event. I wonder why. Same for the boat show, barely any ads on TV or billboards.

The girls partied at Cellar club in kaslik, not the most famous or known of clubs, and had dinner at Nahawand restaurant.

(More Pictures at beirutnightlife)

And then there was the fashion show. I must say those aren’t the best looking playmates i’ve seen.

Here are some more pictures:

So i went to see Helene Segara’s concert on Friday at Edde Sands and it turned out to be an enjoyable evening. The place where they hold the concert is very nice, there were chairs for everyone, lounges for VIP people and of course lounges accompanied with a Gala dinner for the VVIP guests.

The concert started around 10:15 and lasted for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Segara was charming and sang songs in different languages, as part of her world tour theme. One of them was “7arramt 2a7ibbak” and she did sing it pretty well. I recorded part of it and uploaded it for whomever wants to watch.

Lebanon will make musical history by setting the new international summer party standard, placing it firmly as the jet set party circuit stop of 2010!

Check out BMC’s website. It sure looks like a cool event.

Thanks Karim